Oh, Antarctica.. you fascinate me. Scientists have headed down to Antarctica, the coldest place on earth, to search for life that thrives in blistering heat. Yes, blistering heat! This is the, out of this world, Antarctica's Mt. Erebus. Antarctica's second largest volcano (12,448 ft) and only one of five volcanos in the world that have a permanent lava lake. The lake frequently spews out lava high into the sky, but on quiet days, it just huffs and puffs sulfur smelling steam. The volcanic activity surrounding Mt. Erebus has created unique geological features such bizarre caves which as expressed as ice towers at the surface. The ice towers are formed when water rapidly turns to ice, as warm volcanic vapors come in contact with the frigid Antarctica surface temperatures. Their caves can be even more stunning on the inside, as millions of intricate crystals hang from the walls like fragile crystal chandeliers. Warm volcanic gases seeping to the surface carve the labyrinths within the ice.
The caves can be quite warm with the hottest recorded temperature of 104 degrees. Can you imagine being hot in Antarctica outside ;)? The hot gases have allowed for some amazing microbial life forms living in the soils of the ice caves. Currently the caves are protected as the life is being studied. They caves aren't completely safe to enter as the gas levels can be toxic to humans and will be explored in the future by robotics. Amazing, right?
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